Names: Mohammad Hossein Band, his wife Gul Parwar, their daughter Fatemeh (11), and their son Amir Hossein (9).

Profile: Hossein is a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia and his family is living in Iran.

Advantages: Hossein is UN Certified, he has basic English skills, and he is an experienced stonemason and tile maker.

Risk: At risk of being tortured and killed by the Taliban if returned home.

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Due to facing death threats from the Taliban, Mohammad Hossein, a Hazara refugee, fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

While living in a state of limbo, he has been counting each day to reunite with his wife and children who are left in Iran where they are at risk of being deported to Afghanistan.

Mohammad Hossein is an experienced stonemason and tile maker. He dreams of resettling in a safe country where he can use his skills and live with freedom. It is time for him to reunite with his family. He is a UNHCR refugee which makes him eligible to be sponsored to Canada, and he is now looking for a group of 5 Canadian friends who can help him start a new life in Canada.

At Risk

Mohammad Hossein was born in January 1990, in Khas Uruzgan district in Oruzgan province in Afghanistan.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. Due to financial issues, Hossein could not get a proper education, and at a young age, he started working as a farmer to help his father support the family.  

In the year 2010, Hossein got married. His elder brother Assadullah was a militiaman of Abdul Hakim Shujaae, a Hazara warlord who used to defend Hazara ethnicity from the Taliban. In November 2012, Hossein’s elder brother was captured and killed by the Taliban. Afterward, Hossein received a number of threatening letters from the Taliban asking him for money otherwise they would kill him too.

“Knowing that I was at risk of being captured and killed, I had to make a very painful decision which was to leave my hometown.”

Deported From Iran

Hossein and his family traveled to Tehran, Iran illegally in late 2012. There, he worked as a stonemason and tile maker to support his family. Unfortunately, due to not having legal documents to stay in the country, he was arrested by Iranian police and deported to Herat, Afghanistan in September 2014.   

“My life changed completely. My family was left in Iran, and I was deported to Afghanistan where I was at risk of being killed.”

The Way to Indonesia

From Herat, Hossein tried to get back to Iran, but the illegal route was very dangerous. He then decided to seek a safe country where he could bring his family and live a peaceful life with them. After he arranged for a people smuggler, he flew to New Delhi, India on September 14, 2014. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on September 26, 2014.

Life in Indonesia

After arriving in Jakarta, Hossein registered himself with the UNHCR on October 07, 2014. With no right to work or way to support himself in the new country, Hossein went to Pekanbaru Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. He was then transferred to a community house in Pekanbaru. Since then, he has been living there.

Hossein has been very concerned for his wife Gul Parwar, his daughter Fatemeh, and his son Amir Hossein, who are left in Iran. Like other Afghan refugees in Iran, his family is at risk of being deported to Afghanistan which is under the Taliban’s governance. He says,

“It has been more than 9 years since I have not met my wife and children. For a father, not being able to see his children growing up is very painful.”

Opportunity

There is a way for Hossein to reunite with his wife and children in a peaceful country like Canada where he can work, support his family and live with freedom.

Since Hossein is officially certified as a refugee by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – he and his family qualify for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

If you would like to sponsor this beautiful family – or if you’re just interested in helping to bring them here – please contact their friend Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can reach out to Mohammad Hossein directly on Facebook – or through WhatsApp: +62 898-9316-461.

Reach out and discover how wonderful it is to privately sponsor a good family to start a new life – with your help – in Canada!

Thank you for your support. And help spread the word by sharing this post!